Mysteries in the Jungle
by Lucicelo
Summary: AU: Nowaki's trip to New York was supposed to be simple. This changed when a simple alert of high turbulence sent the plane down into the ocean. The few that survived, managed to get onto a life raft and spotted an island in the horizon. What should have brought them relief, only caused questions of what exactly resided through the dense forest.
1. Down in the Ocean

_A/N: This was just a passing idea...I mean I wasn't ever actually going to flesh this idea out until someone had to go and get me describing everything on tumblr. (Teabags is seriously excited for this one, I guess she likes wild man Hiroki for some reason)_

_Anyway, this is simply a story where Nowaki's plane crashes into the ocean and he ends up in an island where Hiroki is the Chief's son. Kinda like Tarzan, except Nowaki isn't there voluntarily, he was there due t__o the plane going through a harsh storm and it landed in the ocean_. This is set somewhere between the 1950's-70's since by this time inflatable life rafts were created and more airplanes were accessible in different countries for commercial flights. 

_-Lucicelo_

* * *

Chapter 1: Down into the ocean...

"Can it get any hotter outside?" Nowaki asked himself, he walked down the aisle as he tried not to bump into anyone that were already sitting down.

He grasped his carry-on tighter to his chest as he looked at the numbers above the seats. Having memorized the number he would sit in, he didn't need to have his ticker in his hand when he walked through the plane. Everything looked remotely comfortable but he knew he would struggle going to sleep since he was so big. Maybe he would be lucky enough to be the only one in his row and he could take up another seat. From the look of the plane, it didn't seem any more people were going to arrive.

Nowaki placed his carry-on bag in the compartment above his row with ease though he sniffed his armpits to check if he smelled. Trying to be as inconspicuous as possible, he didn't make it so obvious as he twisted slightly to make it seem that he was pushing his bag properly in the compartment. He wiped his forehead to get rid of the sweat which accumulated before he walked inside of the air conditioned plane. The other passengers were fanning themselves with stacks of paper or newspapers while others were trying to stay hydrated. His tank top and his shorts didn't help cool him off at all, not even the ice cold water he got at the food court provided any relief. He didn't predict this outcome when he was buying his ticket months ago and also the weather wasn't this bad at the beginning of the week.

He closed the compartment door as he let out a sigh. He had high hopes on succeeding in his studies in America but as always he had to doubt himself before anything else. His professor recommended the program to him and a variety of other students didn't take this opportunity because they would rather study in Japan. Nowaki was sure it was because a majority of the students were not confident in their English but he had many chances to speak it in his many part time jobs which sometimes had tourists who didn't understand a work of Japanese. Though, he carried a Japanese to English dictionary in his luggage if he ever got stuck in any of the books he would read or when he conversed with people.

Nowaki had placed what little furniture he had in storage after he finished all the preparations and paperwork. He told his landlord he was leaving for America when he handed him his rent money for the month. The day he was leaving was in the middle of the month so he didn't want to be booted out before he had a chance to finish any loose ends. He hoped his space was still unoccupied when he returned but he was sure that might be impossible. There were countless students who would want his cheap apartment and his landlord was always looking for ways to rent out apartments in the area.

Before he even got the offer to study in America, he had gotten offers from new students wanting to room in with him. So many people had insisted and begged him to let them stay but he had to refuse them every single time. Nowaki knew they overlooked the fact the space barely fit his large frame to begin with and they would never remain comfortable with the arrangement if he went through sharing the apartment with someone.

He took out a novel from his carry-on bag before he shut the compartment door closed and sat down in his seat. Looking on ahead, he saw a group of guys talking real loudly and Nowaki thanked his lucky stars that he had some ear plugs for when he fell asleep later on in the day. In a different occasion, he wouldn't have cared if someone was chatting near him or was in a near vicinity of where he was sitting but he knew he had to fall asleep eventually. He tried not to let his displeasure show as he waited for the pilot to tell them that they were ready to fly.

Tuning everyone out, Nowaki opened up the novel in his hands and started reading. He only picked out this novel because he heard through different people that it was a really good read and he wouldn't grow bored if he was anywhere for long periods of time. The story already started at a good pace so he predicted that he wouldn't get bored of it during his flight.

The stewardesses began telling everyone about the safety protocols as Nowaki placed his book on his lap and buckled on his seat belt. He kept reading the words while barely hearing the words said by the stewardesses and picked the book back up in his hands.

Ten minutes later, the plane took off as Nowaki broke out of his reading trance and looked around the area. His tall stature made it easier for him to look over the seats and he saw everyone was perfectly seated. The magazines were taken out of behind the seats while others were talking to the people sitting right next to them.

Nowaki turned to his right and saw a young man with a crossword puzzle in his hands. His brown hair was tied back in a small ponytail and his legs were crossed over each other since there was no one occupying the seat right next to his. He wrote in an answer to the puzzle and grinned when it all fit in the squares.

The young man felt he was being watched and saw Nowaki looking right at him. He closed the crossword book in his hands since he felt somewhat self-conscious of having someone look at him.

Nowaki commented as he closed the novel in his hands. "It seems like you are having so much fun, young man."

His face turned slightly pink as he nodded his head. "Y-Yes, I have a few more things in my bag to keep me entertained in this flight. I might fall asleep anyway..." He put out his hand as he nervously said, "I'm Misaki Takahashi."

Nowaki smiled as he grasped Misaki's hand and shook it. "I'm Nowaki Kusama, it's a pleasure to meet you. May I ask, where are you going?"

Misaki answered with a fond smile on his face. "I'm visiting my older brother and his family in Canada, my sister-in-law just gave birth to their daughter so I'm visiting for a few weeks. I haven't seen my nephew in over a year since they moved so I am really excited to see him. I think they named their daughter Michiru." He took out his wallet and grinned. "We are going to take a whole picture of all us with the baby this time."

"May I see it?" Nowaki asked as Misaki handed it to him.

Nowaki saw a tall black haired man with an arm around Misaki and his wife. He looked incredibly happy to have all the people who were important in his life in the picture. They were all smiling in the photo while the young woman held a toddler in her arms who seemed to be trying to escape from her arms. He chuckled slightly at how animated their facial expressions were but he could tell they were so content and happy.

Misaki studied Nowaki's reaction to the photo and he swore he saw some sadness in Nowaki's facial expression. If it was there, it disappeared immediately and there was nothing but happiness showing through his face. Nowaki handed the photo back to Misaki who put it back inside of his wallet.

Misaki asked. "What about you? Where are you traveling?"

Nowaki answered him as he made himself more comfortable in his seat. "Well, I am going to New York to study medicine for two years but I will try to cut it down to one year."

Misaki's eyes widened as he smiled. "That's so cool! I have never met someone studying to become a doctor before! But isn't the path to complete it hard to finish?"

Nowaki smiled when he said. "Well every program has its difficulties but I am already half way through what I want to accomplish so I can't quit now. Are you barely entering university?"

Misaki nodded his head. "I studied my butt off and I barely managed to get in. I called it good luck since I usually got pretty bad test scores in high school."

Nowaki shook his head in amusement. "I don't think so, it's called hard work on your part. You really wanted to get into the university you picked and studied real hard. It's not all about luck, it was all you."

Misaki's face flushed in embarrassment. "Thank you.."

"You are so welcome." Nowaki said as he reached out and ruffled Misaki's hair, he tried not to laugh when Misaki pouted from the action.

* * *

The downfall of their flight started with the announcement made by the pilot.

The stewardesses went inside of the pilot's cockpit for further explanation and they returned a few minutes later with nervous smiles on their faces. One of them immediately made sure that the carts were secure and wouldn't roll down the aisles if it got ugly. It was for security reasons but they have been through many storms to know that sometimes they had to wait it out before it got better. They only hoped this passed on quickly so the passengers didn't grow anxious that the storm didn't pass quick.

A few passengers asked them what was going on and what the pilot meant by high turbulence. It was wintertime and some knew that something as little as wind could cause an even bigger reaction of the plane. The rowdy teens from earlier were quiet when they listened in on any news because everyone was buckling in their seat belts and making sure they wouldn't fly out their seats.

Nowaki placed his book underneath his leg as he looked around the area. He was concerned by the expressions of worry on the stewardesses faces who declined letting any of the passengers go talk to the pilot and his co-pilot to answer some questions. Nowaki knew it was best to leave the pilots to their job but it was better to have everyone in terror mode over some bumps in their flight. From the earlier announcement before the one they just received, they were getting close to the state of Hawaii where they would all make transfers to their respective cities.

He checked on Misaki and saw the young man trying to concentrate on the magazines that were provided for their flight but saw him peeking glances at the stewardesses. Nowaki was sure this was all a precaution and everything will be alright.

Misaki leaned from his seat toward Nowaki when he whispered. "Kusama-san, do you have any idea what's going on?"

Nowaki told him. "Maybe there is a storm coming and they don't want people to get scared so they are warning us first."

"Oooh that makes sense." Misaki sat on his seat properly and drank the rest of his juice with relief.

Nowaki felt slightly better when he assured Misaki since that did make the most sense. There was a storm in the horizon and the staff were going through their precautions where no one felt the need to panic. He relaxed into his seat as took out from book from under his leg and resumed reading it.

After ten minutes, the speaker went on again as the pilot informed them. **"Attention passengers, we will be taking a detour toward Baja California. Thank you very much for your patience."**

"Mexico? Couldn't we have landed in one of the other states?" Nowaki muttered to himself as he saw everyone whispering to each other over this news and the plane jerked harshly to the left.

The stewardesses gave their safety speech yet again as they told everyone to buckle in their seat belts. Then told them to placed their trays underneath their seats since it was too late to collect them all. After they were done talking, they immediately went to their own seats and buckled in.

The plane swerved left to right, there was a particular jerk which made someone fall out of their seat whose seat belt wasn't on. Everyone stared at the person who was terrified enough to scramble back into his seat and finally put on his seat belt. After that, the lights started flickering on and off. Lighting struck loudly and the rain pelted the side of the plane making it move around even more.

They all felt the plane going down in a vertical angle while he the ones sitting at the windows saw the rain was going the same way as the plane. A sickening feeling came in their stomachs when they came to a realization.

"The plane is going down!" Someone screamed and all hell broke loose.

Screams traveled throughout the airplane and the stewardesses had no choice but to scream as well.

The lights flickered on and off at a rapid rate, there were times when there was a blackout but the lights turned on again.

The plane tipped up slightly due to the efforts of the pilot and co-pilot trying to keep the plane from going down. They stared at each other and shook each other's hands, fully knowing that they might not make it if they hit the ocean. But this didn't mean that they gave up on trying to stabilize the plane. Slowing the impact might lessen the blow so no one would be injured and at least escape freely, though the storm was making this difficult to accomplish.

Nowaki looked around in fear as he watched everyone huddling together. Even if they didn't know each other, they held each other in pure terror and had nothing to lose. All of them were preparing for the impact of the ocean below, their minds blanked as adrenaline ran through their bodies. Some managed to whisper prayers under their breaths, while others cried in each others arms. Mainly muttering how they didn't want to die so young or voicing their regrets before their doom.

Nowaki closed his eyes tight as he tried his best to make himself into a ball in his seat. If this was his time to leave the Earth, then he wouldn't fight it. He gripped his shorts as he tried to block out the screams of the people which was hard to do. The last thought he had was how the was unable to accomplish the goal he set up throughout all these years in university but he made it far enough at this point in his life that he didn't regret it.

A few seconds after that thought, it all went silent when the plane hit the ocean.

* * *

Nowaki slowly opened his eyes after the impact and he felt a throbbing pain to the left side of his head. He touched the spot, his fingers were coated in blood and he felt blood dripping down his face. He felt the water slowly rising as the water seeped through his shoes. He turned to look behind him and he saw a young woman slumped in her seat. There was no movement, her breathing was non-existent and her eyes were slightly open. Part of the plane impaled her side leaving her pinned to her seat.

There were a lot more people scattered all around the plane where he saw more people slumped over their seats. He bit the inside of his cheek as he tried not to scream or freak out. He had seen a variety of dead bodies when he was in his classes back in Japan but he had never seen a collection of them in one place. He didn't need to check them out to know that they were dead, even if some were awake, there was nothing they could do to save them. Where ever they were, there was on way to get medical attention.

He hastily took off his seat belt and stood up from his seat. His butt hit the seat right behind him as he opened the compartment on top of him and grabbed his bag. He knew he had no chance of getting his bigger suitcase down below but at least he had his essentials in his carry on bag. He felt someone run into his side as he looked down to see Misaki.

Nowaki stared into frightened green eyes. Nowaki met this young man at the beginning of their flight, he spoke eagerly about finally reuniting with his brother and his wife in Canada where he would spoil his nephew and new niece rotten. His trembling hands clenched the photo he was shown earlier in the flight. The bright young man from earlier was now reduced to this shivering mess.

"Misaki-san?" Nowaki inquired, he got closer as he examined Misaki's body and saw that nothing was out of place. "Are you alright?" He knew Misaki was in a state of shock, he had to make sure Misaki didn't panic.

"K-K-kusama-san?" He trembled while he heard an explosion at the far end and he jumped slightly. "I-I.."

"It's going to be okay Misaki," Nowaki went to his side when he asked him. "Are you hurt at all?" Misaki shook his head rapidly as he let out a cry when something else exploded on the other side of the plane. "We should get going, do you have your things?"

Misaki nodded as his tears streamed down his face. "Y-Yes.." He held up his duffel bag which Nowaki saw was partially wet, maybe Misaki dropped it in a panic when he first woke up.

Nowaki grabbed his arm gently and Misaki immediately held onto his side. He pulled him to the emergency exit where he heard many people talking and some were screaming to hurry up since the storm was getting worse as the minutes passed on by. Nowaki and Misaki heard the rain hitting the plane and the water was quickly rising, it was already up to Misaki's waist. This prompted Nowaki to go faster toward the exit.

When they got near the exit, he saw someone helping a young lady into the life raft. He made sure Misaki was ahead of him as an older gentleman named Takei helped Misaki onto the life raft when the water rose even higher. Misaki instantly opened his duffel bag, looking through the bag for his rain coat as he placed the picture in the middle and wrapped it up. He placed it back inside of his bag and settled in the middle of the raft.

Nowaki held his bag over his head as the water went to half of his chest and he took deep breaths to try to remain calm, the older man rapidly asked Nowaki. "Are you the only one left?"

Nowaki answered. "Yes..." He looked behind him and he shivered at the lifeless bodies from the seats and some were already floating from the water level rising. "I'm the only one left."

"Then get in! There is no time to waste, there is only so little time when storm becomes even worse." The man told Nowaki as he pulled him into the life raft and Nowaki settled right beside Misaki.

Nowaki counted about ten people who managed to get on the boat. There were six men, including him and Misaki, and four women who were huddled in the middle of the life raft to give everyone else room to row away from the plane.

Misaki clutched his duffel bag as he tried to keep it from getting any wetter, which was impossible considering the fact that the rain wouldn't let up. He managed to place his picture of his brother and his family inside of a rain coat he packed in case it rained in Canada when he visited his brother. The plastic might keep it from getting ruined, the hope of seeing his brother again was keeping him from giving up on the spot.

Two people started paddling away from the plane but it was hard considering the fact that the waves were hitting them toward the direction of the plane. The ones who were partially injured huddled together for warmth, their clothes were all soaked through and their bodies were shivering due to the wind hitting their wet bodies. The oars were passed around to people who had enough strength and didn't look physically injured. Soon, the ones handling the oars were exhausted trying to battle the storm as they gave up.

They let the life raft float along the waves and everyone huddled against each other to keep anyone from falling over. The waves simply crashed to the side and they tried scooping any rain water from the raft to keep it from flooding with their combined weight.

The storm calmed down after an hour as the ones who rowed regained their strength and were ready to row again but they didn't know which direction to turn to. Misaki and the other passengers looked around their surroundings, some already gave up hope in finding land since they saw no indication of land anywhere. They simply relaxed in the realization that they survived and they needed to focus on being alive.

Nowaki remained on his spot and applied pressure to his wound, the rain water was sufficient in removing some of the dried blood from his hair. Yet, he wanted to clean it properly on land and use his bandages from his portable first aid kit to cover it up from the elements.

A young lady named Kana, squinted her eyes as a smile came on her face. "Look over there!" She pointed to a dot in the distance when she informed them. "That might be an island! Let's paddle over there!"

Grabbing the oars, Nowaki and Takei started paddling to that direction while everyone else was completely silent. Not ready to accept that they were saved yet, the storm might be gone but they didn't know what to expect when they stepped one foot on that island.

TBC


	2. Walking on the Sand

_A/N: There will be some italics in the end of the chapter which would indicate that the people who live on the island talk in another language. Hiroki will make his appearance in the next chapter if anyone is wondering. _

_-Lucicelo_

* * *

Chapter 2: Walking on the Sand...

The life raft laid on its side as everyone held whatever they had brought with them tight to their chest. Some people were spread on the sandy beach but they made sure they were in a group and not on their own. The adrenaline wore off when they made it to the island, Kana had barely spotted it when she turned a random direction and pointed to the dot. Everyone was relieved when the island got closer to them, they visibly relaxed but on the inside they were nervous on what exactly they would find on this mysterious island.

Their footsteps on the wet sand were washed away by the waves of the ocean, the plane was in a watery grave which chilled all of them to the bone. They were at a fair distance so nothing horrifying would wash on shore. It didn't seem that there would be any storms after that big one, there were no clouds or any indication of bad weather in the sky. The sun was even shining brightly on all of them, normally this would be perfect weather to have fun in the ocean but after their incident, they didn't want to step foot in the ocean any time soon.

The surviving passengers were weary of their surroundings and tried blocking out the cries from the other passengers before the plane hit the ocean from their minds. A majority of them were pissed that their suitcases were not saved from the wreckage since they held their valuables and extra clothing to wear. The rest thought that at least they were still alive.

Nowaki hooked his wet carry on bag over his shoulders as he assessed his surroundings. He stared at all of the plants which blocked the stretch of beach from the inside of the forests of the island. Birds chirped without a care in the dense forest as he tried to locate anything beyond the trees to indicate there was more than just birds. His hand touched the side of his head as he flinched from the pain. He needed to clean his wound and bandage it so it wouldn't get infected when he slept at night.

He knew he still had his first aid kit inside of his carry on bag after growing used to having it as a necessity in his everyday life. He would get onto bandaging himself when a clean water source was found. From how much the other passengers were weary of even entering the forest, Nowaki might have to venture inside of the forest himself. Not that he minded, his tall stature would help him scout out the area and his eyesight wasn't too bad to locate anything out of the ordinary.

When this water source was found, they would at least have some leverage on not dehydrating themselves so quickly. The sea water wouldn't do them any good in their current situation. He already had to stop some of the people from drinking the water since the salt would dehydrate them faster and was bad for them. The fact a good portion of them didn't know sea water was undrinkable was just something Nowaki couldn't comprehend.

"It looks like we are stuck here for a while." Nowaki mumbled, placing his bag on a rock, he turned his back to it to watch the ocean. "And there is no possible way for us to call someone to come save us...maybe by an off chance an airplane might fly over this island. But then again..how big is this island anyway?"

* * *

A pair light brown eyes stared at the tall young man to make sure he wasn't looking at his direction as he observed him. He crouched down as he crept closer to the thick bush and placed his spear right beside his feet. His muscular limbs were on full display since he wore a simple loincloth to give him more movement as one of the hunters of his tribe. His long brown hair was tied back with a thin strip of cloth to prevent it from going into his face. Feeling curious of the bag with so many shiny parts, he took a step back as he got closer to the young man. It had been a while since anything washed up on the beaches of their island so this was pretty interesting.

He remembered how parts of a boat washed up when he was young and his mother explained how the metal was used to make sure water wouldn't get into the boat. The fascination of the outside world his mother talked to him about always resurfaced in his mind, despite the fact that they were stuck on that island for life. It was a vast land that no one had ever managed to find throughout this world yet, this was something his mother was always amazed by. He traveled with her all the time around the island and she always mentioned how her native land wasn't that big compared to other parts of the world.

The young man in front of him turned to look at the forest and he saw a dry trail of blood on the side of his face. Hiroki's eyes went toward the other people wandering around the beach, there were some that had blood on their clothing but others were simply disheveled from where they came from. He knew of the storm from earlier but he didn't know if that even contributed to them landing on their island. Though, they were lucky to have landed on this side of the island and not the other one.

There were a group of men crouched down right behind the young man as he signaled them to go to the deep end of the beach where a pair of young ladies were wandering off to. He didn't want any of these outsiders to stray from their sight and all of them went to different directions to get a better view of all of these new strangers. They easily maneuvered through the many obstacles in their way since any noise would alert the people of their presence and it would ruin their observations of them.

All they were sent out to do was to gather information and go back to relay the information to the leader and the second-in-command to talk about their next move. And by off chance someone managed to spot any one of them, they would leave without engaging any sort of conversation or altercation with them. The leader would reprimand them for not following protocol in what they did on a daily basis.

His tan hand reached out when Nowaki placed the bag on the rock. This was his chance to look through the contents of the bag and then put it back. He didn't think that there was anything inside of that bag which would truly indicate anyone looked through it.

He almost touched the bag when Misaki exclaimed. "Kusama-san!" His hand retracted back into the shrubs, leaving the bag undisturbed.

* * *

Misaki ran to Nowaki, he panted when he stopped in front of him and asked in a fearful voice. "What are we going to do?"

Nowaki answered, "I don't know..." He stared at the horizon and stared at the ocean. "I don't know if anyone will realize that the plane is missing this early, we had a while before we even landed in America since we were going to take that detour."

Misaki sniffled as he tried hard not to cry and clutched the family photo to his chest. "B-But my brother...he is going to be so worried about me, he was always a worry wart when it came to me. He will be panicking when he realizes I'm not at the airport to meet him and Mahiro. We have to get out of here and—" Misaki felt Nowaki pat his shoulder and he looked up at him in shock. "Kusama-san?"

Nowaki turned to him as he gave him a tender smile. "Misaki-san, you need to calm down, well on the outside at least." He motioned to the other scared passengers. "We can't show how dire the situation is to everyone else, trust me, they will panic when they realize that we are not going to be saved that fast. From the looks of the place," He stared at the variety of trees and spotted some plump exotic fruits on the trees. "We are on a tropical island, we might even be near South America if the storm took us more South than I hoped."

Misaki stiffly nodded his head as he moved around Nowaki and placed his messenger bag right beside Nowaki's bag. "Do you have family, Kusama-san? Won't they worry about you when they realize you haven't called them that you made it to your school on time?"

Nowaki shook his head as he smiled bitterly. "I'm an orphan, Misaki-san, I have no one back in Japan." Misaki was shocked at this revelation and was about to comment when Nowaki told him. "I'm used to telling people about this Misaki-san, some have been more accepting than most but there's nothing that can change it. When I was a child I would always get so angry because I thought I was left by accident and my parents would come back for me. It took one of the older kids to break this illusion and to accept the fact that I have no family, though you can say the other orphans were like family."

Misaki asked him with a frown on his sweet face. "Won't they miss you?"

Nowaki told him as he scratched the back of his head. "I lost touch with them when I made it into college, I'm sure they would think I turned snooty because I entered college. That might be one reason they haven't contacted me."

Misaki stood right next to him as he said. "You don't seem snooty to me," Nowaki chuckled as he ruffled Misaki's hair, Misaki insisted. "You don't! You are much nicer than most people I meet and I'm not just saying that because you are right in front of me! It's just that..um.." Misaki tried thinking of more things to say but his face turned slightly red when he couldn't think of anything else.

"Thank you, Misaki-san." He shielded his eyes from the sun when he smiled big as he said. "You are such a kind young man, I'm sure you are popular back home."

Misaki shook his head as he sighed. "No I'm not." Nowaki stared down at him and waited for Misaki to continue. "I was a normal guy Kusama-san, nothing too special. I barely passed my classes and when my brother left to Canada for his job, I had to stay in Japan to finish high school. I really missed him and my sister-in-law, and now...I won't ever see them again.."

Nowaki told him. "You can see them in your memories, don't those fade away so quickly. I'm sure your brother knows you are a resilient young man, he will worry but he won't think you will give up in this new adventure all of us are pushed into. Besides, you have a picture with you so you have a chance to keep your memories intact."

Misaki looked over his shoulder to look at his bag and knew his picture was safe in that raincoat. "I don't even know how to swim anyway...so I'm stuck here anyway."

"I'm sure everyone wouldn't want to swim in the ocean anyway...not so quickly after what happened."

"I wouldn't want to either." Misaki shivered as he took off his wet shirt and wrung it out. "We really need to find a place to bathe, I don't think anyone wants to stay covered in salt for the rest of the afternoon."

Nowaki took off his shoes and placed them on top of his duffel bag. "I know but..It is almost sunset and going into the forest is really a bad idea."

"Oh yeah..." Misaki wrung out more water from his shirt as he started waving it around.

The older man from before approached them asked. "Do you want to help us make temporary housing?"

Nowaki looked behind the man and saw the other people getting ready to make a shelter for them all. "Of course, but we do need to collect some food for dinner as well."

Takei nodded his head. "Two people already took on the task on collecting some fruit and I will get the fish. After we are done we will empty out our bags for anything useful for the rest of us."

"That sounds like a plan."

* * *

Misaki immediately went to collect any dry wood that he found a few inches inside of the forest. His arm was already aching from the weight of the bundle he carried but he knew everyone else was busy with their own task and he couldn't complain about it. His shirt was left on the rock to dry out but he felt awkward walking around in semi dry pants and the sand was uncomfortable for his feet. He dumped the wood right next to where the rest of the people were making a temporary structure to shield them from the sun.

The two people who went around the corner of the large forest for food were relieved when they found some tropical looking food for everyone. They gathered a large bundle in their arms and returned to base camp. They placed they fruit in a rock which had a crevice big enough to place the fruit so it wouldn't fall onto the sand. After this, they went to gather more fruit and were delighted that it was so easy to find so much fruit, maybe there was nothing else on the island if they were lucky in their search.

Takei went into the ocean with a net made out of tying his shirt to two sticks. The cloth loosened a few times but he managed to get it tighter on he sticks so it wouldn't break underneath the water. After his experience as a fisherman, he knew exactly when to strike to catch the fish and he wasn't going to let everyone else screw up his approach.

Nowaki and the rest of the people were moving around some branches from the neighboring trees to provide some shade. They managed to grab some vines which were strong enough to keep the branches from snapping back to their original place and tied them in certain areas. Nowaki broke off some branches as well to provide even more coverage. It looked more like a messed up version of what someone might call a shack but it worked.

The wood Misaki gathered was used to make a fire pit as Takei managed to start a fire by rubbing one of the sticks into one of the sticks. He stuck the remaining sticks through the fish after he gutted them out with a sharp piece of rock and most of the people had to look away from what Takei was doing. The man didn't pay them any attention as he placed the fish around the fire in a circle and paid close attention to how they were cooking.

"I think some people should go into the forest to find a water source." Nowaki said as he brought along his bag with him and Misaki stood right beside him "The rest can stay here to keep guard of the supplies we have if some animals want to steal them."

Takei shook his head. "That wouldn't be a good option, we would be safer here by the sea. We might encounter a beast if we go too deep into the forest."

Nowaki insisted. "But if we don't find out what else is in the forest then we will die out here in the beach. With all due respect, there is no way we can survive without having a secure water source. And if we encounter any animals, we have more than enough people to ambush it to leave us alone. Besides, an island cannot hold anything that big anyway."

Takei shrugged his shoulders. "Do what you want, I will remain here with the ones who want to stay in the morning. If you end you getting hurt then don't complain about it to the rest of us. I am planning to stay alive, not get mauled by an animal."

Nowaki let it slide since it was no use arguing when he said. "I will talk to the others and see who will go with me later then."

Takei ignored Nowaki as motioned everyone to come close to the fire. "Whoever has a bag, bring it with you as you sit down, we have to check what we all have for supplies."

Misaki whispered to Nowaki. "How rude! Honestly, he didn't have to brush you off like that!"

Nowaki told Misaki. "It's fine, I knew not everyone would take my idea so well. You will come with me to the forest tomorrow morning right?"

Misaki nodded his head. "Of course! Anything to help."

Everyone gathered the fruit onto the big leaves they found while the ones who managed to get their bags form the plane, brought them along. They all sat down in a circle around the fire as they felt better since their clothes were not drenched through like earlier but they had to wash them with clean water to get rid of the salt.

Takei coughed into his hand when he said. "Now who is going first?"

"I have a first aid kit." Nowaki announced as he took out the small box from his duffel bag. "I am a doctor in training so I grew used to carrying this everywhere with me so if you have any injuries just come to me."

He heard some whispering on their luck that a doctor managed to survive the plane crash and ended up with them. Kana smiled big to have found someone Takei ignored their claims of joy as he tended to the fish, he knew one of the young women was a nurse so having a doctor wasn't a big deal to him.

Nowaki knew education was almost done but it was another thing for him to put into practice what he learned in the middle of nowhere. If someone was hurt badly, he wouldn't know what to do since his supplies were limited. He packed enough things in there for four people but it would run out fast if he didn't use them sparingly. Nowaki then explained everything else in his bag as he showed them to everyone.

When he was done, he cleaned out his wound with some antiseptic and then wrapped some bandages around his head. He treated some of the other people who were grateful that he was sparring some of his items and this would heal them faster. This way all of them would be at full strength to deal with anything that might come their way.

Takei dumped a young man's bag onto the sandy floor which only exposed toiletries for men and an extra set of clothing. The young man almost lashed out at the older man for snatching his bag but Nowaki put his arm out to stop him. They all needed to get along to get through this, even though they didn't designate the Takei as a leader, it was better than yelling at each other on such a mysterious island.

Kana took out all of her things before anyone took her carry-on from her hands. She had a flashlight, a blanket, an extra set of glasses, some bottled water, her own first aid kit, which brought Nowaki some relief. At least they would have more supplies to last them for another while. She also had some snacks she gave to everyone to tie them over as their fish cooked on the fire. Everyone thanked the kind young woman as she took out one of her bottled waters to give to a young woman who looked really parched.

Misaki gulped as he nervously took out his rain coat, which was useless in this hot weather. He showed his pajamas, pencils, a crossword puzzle book, some candy, and the picture of his brother which earned him some pitying stares from the rest of the people. Misaki managed to keep himself from crying as he put his things back inside of his bag and clutched the bag to his chest.

Takei showed his bag without much of a fuss which held a lot of the things that everyone else had so it was no use explaining the. He fixed up the fish so they wouldn't burn on the fire as everyone were eating the snacks they were provided to keep away the hunger. They knew fish took a while to cook and since Takei knew what he was doing, they wouldn't ask if the fish was done yet. Everyone was too exhausted after all the work they did that afternoon to even want to ask any questions.

When it was done, everyone got two fish on a giant leaf and all the fruit they could eat. Some made faces at how flavorless the fish was but the rest of them were happily eating it without a single complaint. The fruit they found was sweet enough to be a substitute for water since they were conserving that until they searched the forest in the morning. After they were full and satisfied, everyone got tired and put out the fire with the sand underneath their feet.

The blankets were spread around inside of the shield of branches and leaves as some of the people huddled together for warmth. Takei took the far corner and stayed far away from the people as possible but was close enough to gather warmth.

Nowaki patted down some sand to provide a make-shift pillow. The bandages around his head prevented any sand or dirt from getting inside of his wound but they were getting itchy. He fought the urge to scratch his head as he sighed and closed his eyes, he hoped the next day was ultimately better after such a rough day. He snored a few seconds later as he put his arms across his chest and slept.

Misaki put his arms through the sleeves of his raincoat as he curled up into a ball. The combination of the blanket underneath him and his raincoat provided some warmth for him. He curled up into a ball as he held onto his brother's picture in his hands and fell into a deep sleep, dreaming about landing into Canada and not thinking about the island.

Hours passed on by, the scouters from earlier in the day returned to the beach. They expected someone to stay awake to keep watch but they were all asleep. The fire was put out and they saw remnants of the food they ate earlier and they saw the poor excuse for housing they have ever seen. They tried hard not to laugh since all of them made their own houses and knew what it took to keep it from collapsing on them. The wrong burst of wind would break this all apart without a problem.

_"They really should have made someone keep watch if this is their first day on an unknown island." _The brown haired man from earlier said as he rolled his eyes._ "Tie them up and if they give you any trouble knock them out, the leader wants to see them in the morning for evaluation with the Shaman."_

A few of the scouters scattered around the people and used make-shift ropes to tie up their arms and their legs. Some even used some cloths to cover their mouths so they wouldn't scream and alert the rest of the people. They tied them nice and tight so they wouldn't slide down their faces when they were going up the mountain to their home.

This lasted a few minutes, each scouter grabbed one of the outsiders and hoisted them over their shoulders. The remaining scouters picked up all of the trinkets that came with the people and put them inside of the odd bags. The young man located Nowaki's bag as he grabbed anything in his sight and placed them inside of the bags. Once he was done, he followed the scouters who had the outsiders in their arms.

One of the men awoke from the movements and started thrashing in one of the scouter's arms. "Who the fuck are you?! Let me go you freak!" His head was immediately hit on the bark of a tree as he fell unconscious without any of the other people waking up from their slumber.

TBC


	3. Waking Up to Countless Stares

Chapter 3: Waking up to Countless Stares...

The first thing Nowaki realized when he slowly left dreamland was how he wasn't laying in the sand. His hands and his feet were bound together with some sort of rope. There were whispers of the people he got to know from the plane right behind him if he was correct on that assumption. He opened his eyes and was shocked to see a whole group of people staring right back at him. Turning to his right, he saw a large throne carved out of stone and a highly decorated older man with silver lines in his black hair sitting on the throne. His light brown eyes and his posture, presented an unrelenting leader who ruled over this tribe without any problems. To his side, Nowaki saw a beautiful woman with green eyes and long cascading curly hair, she was also decorated with many trinkets, her smile presented her kindness. On the other side of the leader, he saw a man with long brown hair who only wore a loincloth, whispering into the leader's ear.

Nowaki managed to sit up on his butt and he caught the gaze of the woman who smiled at him without any malicious intent. This brought Nowaki some relief to this whole scenario, it seemed there were some courteous people in this tribe who found them. It didn't last long when he turned to stare at the leader and noticed how the man didn't stray his eyes from him. His stern face didn't waver as the man right beside him kept whispering into his ear, the leader nodded his head throughout the whole conversation while drumming his fingers on the stone throne. His eyes were hard and cold, which brought a shiver to his spine.

The woman and the man whispered into the leader's ear, after they were done, the leader snapped his fingers. Two muscular men appeared through the crowd and grabbed each one of Nowaki's arms, pulling him on his feet. Nowaki didn't struggle when they touched him, he noticed the knives tied around their thighs and he knew they would hurt him if given the chance. He couldn't tell if they were eager to hurt him since he didn't look at either side to look at their faces, he didn't want to know what they were thinking by their expressions.

_"Release the bonds that hold him!"_ The leader commanded, the men took out the knives from their thighs as they cut up the ropes around Nowaki's wrists and legs. _"Go on and make your assessment, my son."_ He told his son, who nodded his head and walked away from his father.

Nowaki rubbed his wrists when the brown haired man jumped down from the throne as he walked toward him. He remained still as the two bigger men retreated back into the crowd without a word. Nowaki assumed this was the leader's son due to the strong resemblance and there was some nice jewelry on his body. He didn't understand what this guy would want with him or what was his reason to attempt to talk to him, he was sure the man couldn't possibly know Japanese.

The wild man stopped right in front of Nowaki as he stared into his eyes. Those light brown eyes pierced through Nowaki's soul, it was as if the man was looking through him and seeing every little thing he had done in his life. Nowaki went rigid when he felt the man touch his face and kept this stare down in front of everyone else. The man broke the gaze when he turned back to the leaders and nodded his head.

Nowaki noticed the woman looked visibly relieved when the male beside her nodded his head as well. He didn't understand what was going on but maybe he was saved after all with these people. They didn't injure him or kick him around like the movies he saw back home lead to believe that anyone who wasn't considered civilized would behave.

Nowaki's attention went back to the man in front of him when he said. "Hiroki Kamijou."

The taller man snapped his head to Hiroki who simply smirked up at him. "W-What?" He felt Hiroki poking him on the chest while he heard the other passengers whispering among themselves.

"I am Hiroki Kamijou, your name?"

Nowaki managed to utter out through his shock. "N-Nowaki Kusama."

Hiroki patted his cheek in amusement. "Didn't expect me to know a lick of your language did you?" Nowaki nodded his head as a very old man with colorful beads on his neck walked toward them and waved a stick with feathers all over the place in his wrinkled hand. _"He is Nowaki Kusama, humble elder."_

The shaman said, _"He seems perfect for the tribe, you have done well, Herokee." _Hiroki stopped himself from correcting the elder in the pronunciation of his name, his judgement was accepted without question and that was good enough for him.

Hiroki nodded his head as the shaman held Nowaki's face in place as he stared right into his eyes. Nowaki hunched slightly, the man was half his size and it felt odd to have someone on their toes just to look at him. Nerves filled his body, his eyes connected with Hiroki who motioned him to keep his eyes on the old man in front of him.

The shaman moved Nowaki's face at different angles while checking out the extremities beyond the odd clothing. He had never seen such colorful clothes, other than the second-in-command when she washed up onto their island decades ago. Pulling onto the shirt, he felt the stiffness and knew Nowaki had not washed himself since landing on the island. This needed to be remedied when the rest of the people were changed into proper clothing at the end of the evaluation.

His bushy eyebrows scrunched when he saw those bright white cloths surrounding Nowaki's head. There was a deep red spot on the left side of the taller man's head which bothered him a bit. He reached and placed his hands around Nowaki's bandages to take them off when Nowaki grabbed onto his hands to prevent him from doing anything else.

"Kamijou-san, please tell him not to touch my bandages." Nowaki kept his grip firm but the shaman took his hands back without a second thought, he looked down at the older man when he said. "I'm sorry, I don't know the extent of my wound from yesterday. Please accept my deepest apologies for my disrespect." He knew the man didn't understand him but he was sure his tone and his facial expressions would express his intent.

Hiroki said to the elder who kept his eyes on Nowaki and didn't look anywhere else. _"Elder, those strange cloths are hiding an injury. He expresses his deepest apologies for interrupting your evaluation."_

The shaman smirked as he tapped Nowaki's cheek with the end of his stick, Nowaki stared at him in confusion. _"He passes. Have him bathe after everyone else is done being evaluated, the wound on his head needs to be properly cleaned before our medicine is placed on it."_

Hiroki sighed in relief as the shaman walked away from them and went toward the rest of the passengers. He turned to Nowaki who stood there deeply in though, he knew Nowaki was confused but it was better he didn't know the result if he was labeled unfit for their tribe. Placing his hand on Nowaki's lower back, he lead him toward a log and lightly pushed him onto it.

"Stay there until everyone else is done being evaluated, it won't take too long." Hiroki informed Nowaki as he walked away from him.

Nowaki got an eyeful of Hiroki's backside as he averted his gaze with a slight pink tint to his cheeks.

* * *

Nowaki scouted the area and saw a variety of well constructed huts in different sizes from his spot on the log. From his distance, he didn't see what was inside of the huts but he knew they were not empty. The villagers watching them were slowly leaving the scene to go inside of their huts to gather things or when a child wailed, they left to console them so they wouldn't interrupt their leaders judgement. The children were in awe as they watched them and giggled when they pointed at a young lady's multicolored dress or one of the men's leather shoes.

They didn't seem as afraid as Nowaki expected, maybe there were many people who washed ashore pretty often for them to not fear outsiders. Although, he didn't see many people who were vastly different from the main tribe, except the second leader who sat on a throne with flowers all over the seat. She was clearly of Asian descent and the only other person who looked like her was Hiroki. The only other conclusion was that he was her son.

Nowaki covered his face with his hands as he closed his eyes tightly. Maybe if he fell asleep, he would wake up back in the plane and eat the lackluster food which was going to be served for breakfast.

"There's no need to be afraid." A gentle female voice assured Nowaki and the young man turned around, locking eyes with the female leader. "Since my son told my husband you were proper for the tribe, you won't be bothered by anyone else." She smiled as she moved her dress aside and sat down right next to him. "And the shaman likes you so you are all set to be included with us when you change out of those clothes."

Nowaki nodded his head when he introduced himself. "I'm Nowaki Kusama."

The second leader smiled. "I'm Fuyumi Kamijou, it is a pleasure to meet you. It has been decades since I have talked to someone in Japanese other than my husband and my son." She saw Hiroki looking at their direction as she waved at him, Hiroki waved back before putting his attention back to the assessment process. "I hope you will enjoy your new life here."

Nowaki tried not to react to her statement, he was stuck there until he died and there was no way he was ever leaving. "I have to admit, Kamijou-san, I don't understand any of this...and why did your son evaluate me, himself?"

Fuyumi told him. "I understand, I didn't know the language when I made it into this island when I was a young lady..and call me Fuyumi, it is no big deal at all." She pushed back her long brown hair when she told him. "Hiroki evaluated you as a test to see if he will be a suitable leader when he is older. My husband and the shaman see his improvement and know he is on his way to take his father's place."

She pointed out when her husband shook his head when Takei was evaluated. "It seems he doesn't seem fit for the tribe." Nowaki stared at her in confusion. "You see, the tribe only accepts individuals who will not bring in danger to everyone else. This is a safe environment, everyone has to work side by side to make sure that our tribe flourishes. You cannot have someone who will argue every step of the way or a lazy person who doesn't do anything."

"Oh.." Nowaki watched the shaman shake his head as well while he chatted with the leader in their language. "Is there any way to get a second chance in this evaluation process?"

Fuyumi pondered for a moment before she answered. "The person would have to stay with the shaman so he can be evaluated even further or he will be sent to the other side of the island."

"The other side of the island?"

"There is a small tribe in the West side of the island, they have some people who are ruthless in training a person to work in a tribe. The only other big tribe send their people to them without a second evaluation like we do which I am against but there is nothing I can say or do to stop them. We are given updates every few days in their progress or lack there of. In the end, they might be sent back to us or they will stay in that tribe for the rest of their lives under strict command." Fuyumi explained.

Nowaki was relieved he passed without a problem, it seemed anyone who was considered a danger to the tribe would be sent to be reformed. He watched the shaman pull Takei aside, the ropes were still on his legs and hands while some guards stood behind him. The same result happened to three other people, two men and one woman.

Fuyumi watched as the young woman was moved aside as she shook her head. "It seems my husband really doesn't see the use in them, this is not a good sign...and four in a row too."

Nowaki felt nervous for Misaki, he watched the young man shivering on his spot as he was lead up the stone steps to the throne. He didn't know what the leader and the shaman saw inside everyone to know what was acceptable or not. He only hoped Misaki passed without a problem and everyone else who followed after him.

* * *

The leader looked Kana directly in the eyes when he saw her unwavering stare. He noted how she didn't struggle in her binds and simply watched her surroundings when she waited for her evaluation. She was relaxed in front of him and didn't show any indication of bringing any danger to his tribe. Her eyes presented knowledge, for what subject, he had no idea but it would be revealed once time passed on. She needed to get rid of the clothing she had on, the material would overheat her when it grew hotter in the day.

Kana gulped at his cold stare, this man overlooked all of these people who were staring at them from a distance and was serious in protecting them. When the leader and the shaman spoke, she didn't understand any of the words the men exchanged with each other, all of this just felt like a dream. Moments later, the leader nodded his head as the guards tore apart the binds on her wrists and her legs. She smiled gratefully as she rubbed the sore spots on her wrists.

She locked eyes with the others who were pushed aside, some of them glared at her for having her binds released. All she could do was look away, it wasn't her fault that she was let free without the ropes tying her together. She didn't know the qualifications of having someone pass but she was just thrilled her hands and feet weren't restricted anymore.

She jumped when the leader asked her in a thick accent. "Your name?"

Kana looked up in surprise when she answered. "Kana Narita." She didn't know there were people on this island that spoke Japanese, at least she wouldn't misunderstand what they wanted of her when they were all settled.

"Go sit with the other one on the log." He told her as Kana nodded her head, instantly walking over to Nowaki and the second leader, she sat down with her hands on her lap.

Misaki was gently pushed forward after Kana walked away, he interlaced his fingers together as he froze when his eyes connected with the leader. He was so terrified, he never imagined that there were other people on this island and how they would capture them in their sleep. Misaki tried not to cry, he wanted nothing more than to go back home to Japan. At least everything there was normal, there was the normal stress involved but it was better than being looked over by such scary people.

The shaman looked over Misaki, moving his tied up limbs, poking at his face as Misaki quickly shut his eyes. Some tears ran down his cheeks as the men stared at each other in confusion at this reaction. Everyone else either glaring at them or stood their ground, they had never gotten someone who cried in front of them before.

Hiroki reached out his hand and patted Misaki's shoulder. "Calm down. My father is not going to hurt you."

Misaki stared at him in shock. "Y-You know Japanese?" Hiroki nodded his head as he motioned Misaki to turn his attention to the leader who was still examining him. "H-How?"

"Pay attention to the leader, brat." Hiroki told him. "Unless you want to remain tied down like the other ones over there." Misaki turned and saw the number of people who were placed aside, his eyes widened as he shook his head. "Good. Now wipe those tears and pay attention."

Misaki hastily wiped the tears from his face with his shoulders since he couldn't use his hands.

_"Thank you for calming him down. I don't understand why he reacted in such a way."_

_"He might be homesick, he is young, he probably hasn't been far away from home before."_ Hiroki suggested to his father who nodded his head in agreement.

_"I agree."_

The shaman looked Misaki over as he walked around him when he commented. _"He seems...good, healthy, not weak at all by the sign of these callouses on his hands. He might be really compliant to our rules and won't go against us like the first one we pulled aside."_

Misaki stared at them and didn't move a muscle. He relaxed his body as he turned his eyes toward the log, where he saw the young woman who went before him and Nowaki talking to the second leader with smiles on their faces. Maybe it wouldn't be bad being there but Misaki was still not sure, he was still afraid of his new surroundings.

_"I see the same thing,"_ Soshi said as he looked into Misaki's eyes and the young man couldn't look away.

Soshi nodded his head as the guards cut Misaki's binds and a heavy burden was released from his shoulders. Misaki didn't know where to cry again or laugh that he wasn't going to be tied up.

"Your name." Soshi demanded, Misaki jumped at his voice as he shivered.

"M-Misaki Takahashi."

"Sit with the others."

Misaki didn't have to be told twice as he bolted to Nowaki's side. He sat right next to the young woman from earlier, who introduced herself as Kana. She was laughing and making jokes as if she didn't notice that she was stuck on the island. Misaki assumed that she was making the best of her situation and wasn't showing how scared she really was to be there.

Misaki met the second leader who had the kindest voice and made him feel welcome. She excused her husband's intimidating presence and Misaki wondered how she could have married someone so scary.

* * *

After the rest of the people were accepted into the tribe, the ones who were placed aside were escorted by the guard to reside inside of the shaman's hut. Nowaki watched them struggling against their holds, well the men were struggling, the young woman walked without a problem. He still didn't understand how the leader and the shaman knew who needed a deeper evaluation but it wasn't his place to give an opinion. After living for so long, he still couldn't tell who was trustworthy or not, but then again he gave everyone the benefit of the doubt.

The ones who remained free, were sent to the river to take a quick bath. The women went to different section of the lake so the men wouldn't see them, they were relieved to know they wouldn't be forced to bathe together just to keep an eye on them. Although, the children were nearby watching what they were doing. When they were done, they were sent to a hut to change into different clothes. Everyone was self conscious in showing their bodies but when they saw everyone in the tribe not paying attention to their exposed skin, the feeling gradually went away.

Nowaki spent most of the day exploring the village, the surrounding areas, he was sent back to the village plenty of times when he ventured too far. He assumed it was because of the other tribes who might take offense of him stepping into their territory so he tried remembering which places he couldn't go too. It was fairly difficult since everything looked exactly the same to him but he saw the young children running around with no problem whatsoever, so he had to memorize his locations better.

Misaki was pulled into playing some games with the kids who grabbed onto him the moment he walked out of the hut. He forgot for a brief moment where he was and the fact he wouldn't see his brother again. That was, until he watched an older boy gave a little boy a piggy back ride, he tried to prevent himself from crying in front of them.

Kana joined in the games as she distracted Misaki who went back to smiling after a while. She was glad to have distracted him, she could tell he was immensely upset with what happened and eventually he would accept his reality. In the meantime, he needed subtle pushes and guidance from everyone who remained from the flight to help him out. As a nurse, she felt it was her duty to help so she didn't mind making sure Misaki was comfortable.

After a tiring day, Misaki caught up to the second leader, curiously he asked her. "Fuyumi-san, where are we supposed to stay?"

The ones who remained, stood up and went to the second leader who simply smiled at them. "That's easy, your new accommodations are already finished so you can go in there now if you want. In a few days we will have a celebration to welcome you all, so I hope you all enjoy dancing because we can go almost the whole night when we celebrate. Now if you follow me." She started walking ahead as everyone kept up with her.

They chatted in between each other over how they could possibly celebrate without a radio or colorful lights to bring the mood the dance. The usual manner they imagined parties was with food, small talk and a dance somewhere in the duration of the party. They couldn't understand their language at all so they didn't know if anything they did would have the villagers not like them.

They passed by a giant tree full of plump fruit when they turned to the right. Fuyumi lifted up her dress as she walked over the roots and some wet dirt which happened when they were bringing up jugs of water for their newest additions. She pointed to the hut with plenty of flowers surrounding it, courtesy of the children and extra water jugs were placed outside with a lid on each one.

"That is your new home, I hope you like it since we spent a while making sure it was comfortable." Fuyumi told them as they ran past her, she giggled before she made her way back to her own home.

Nowaki let out a deep sigh as he kept walking in the forest. His challenge of remembering where he was going was turning into a failure, he had not found the tree with the moss and he had to admit, he was lost.

A smile graced his face when he saw Hiroki gathering some fruit, he ran toward him. "Kamijou-san!"

Hiroki paused in his movements, turning to Nowaki, he stared at the newcomer. "You shouldn't be this far in the forest," He looked up at the sun setting in the sky. "And it is almost dark, you might get lost."

Nowaki sheepishly laughed. "Well..I did get lost. I tried memorizing where I was going like those kids from earlier and I simply forgot."

Hiroki shook his head as he grabbed his spear and tossed his fruit on the basket on his back. "Next time, ask or tell someone where you are going. We are really deep in the forest and we won't know you are missing." He walked on ahead. "I'll take you to your hut, I'm sure my mother already told the others where you will be living."

Nowaki followed after him when he asked. "Which part of Japan is your mother from?"

Hiroki stopped when he thought about it and he responded. "Tokyo, she told me she was from Tokyo."

"Really, I was living there before I was going to study in America." Nowaki said as he walked closer to Hiroki and the man resumed walking.

"Study?"

"I was going to study to become a doctor." Nowaki told Hiroki as he rubbed his arms, "This program was supposed to help finish the last bit of my schooling before I got into my residency."

"Ah." Hiroki moved the straps on his basket to make it more comfortable on his shoulders. "You sound..lackluster over the whole thing."

"Well, it was a goal I set for myself and by being here, I missed my chance to finish it." Nowaki sighed. "But oh well, I can't feel upset over it when I could have ended up in a much worse situation."

Hiroki said. "You are lucky you didn't end up on the other side of the island, they are not kind to newcomers."

"Your mother told me the same thing earlier today." Nowaki asked. "How did she end up here?"

Hiroki turned a corner, Nowaki followed, he answered. "She ended up here when the boat she was on sank and she floated on a piece of driftwood onto this island after a whole day at sea. She was seventeen at the time and told me how terrified she was since she didn't understand the language, kind of like Takahashi."

"I'm glad he wasn't put aside, he is a kind young man."

"That's what the shaman discussed with my father. They know he wouldn't bring danger to the tribe, if he did then he would be with the others."

Nowaki asked. "What is the shaman going to do with them?"

Hiroki got onto the trail and walked on ahead as the sun set in the sky. "They will all stay with the shaman until he gives the okay, they won't have the ropes on them loosened for the sake of the tribe. It all depends on him and how the guards oversee their behavior for the next few days." Nowaki nodded his head as Hiroki stopped. "See that hut over there?" He pointed to the hut in front of them. "That's your new home with the others, you will decide how to the divide the place."

Nowaki smiled at Hiroki when he told him. "Good night, Hiroki-san."

Hiroki stared at him with an arched brow at the sudden new nickname. "Good night, Kusama." He walked away from Nowaki and went down the trail which lead to his own home.

Nowaki remained on his spot, he frowned when he whispered. "Have a safe trip back home..." He fought the urge to scratch his bandages as he rubbed his cold arms to warm them up.

His whole body shivered from the icy winds, he wondered how everyone in this tribe could handle this without freezing to death. He went back to the big hut which was provided for them and he saw everyone was huddled close to the fire. Misaki looked up at him and held out his blanket which he was sure was taken away with all of his things. Their bags and belongings were placed in the far corner of the hut, nothing looked disturbed, he was sure they would have looked through their things.

Nowaki sat down right next to Misaki as he wrapped himself with his blanket. The placed his hands close to the fire as they warmed up and the hut quickly grew warm with all of their bodies inside of it. Kana and the other women managed to share one big blanket, they were content in sharing their warmth with each other as they began talking to each other.

Misaki held the picture of his brother close to his chest while he remained on his spot. The second in command was so kind in explaining everything to him, she wasn't so terrifying like her husband and the shaman who were talking in their language. If he was honest, he didn't want to live there, he wanted someone to save them and take them back to Japan.

"Nowaki-san..." Nowaki turned to Misaki as he bundled himself up properly in his blanket. "I want to go home."

Nowaki nodded his head. "I know..but you have to get used to this reality, we are stuck here for the time being. We can't change that."

Kana reached out and patted Misaki's shoulder. "It's going to be okay, we can count on Fuyumi-san to look after us. This is a tough transition but we have to look on the bright side, we are all alive."

"We can count on Hiroki-san too, they have been immensely kind to us through all of this. We can trust them."

Misaki nodded his head as he pulled his legs to his chest. "I know..."

TBC


End file.
